Male Pattern Boldness is proud to be the world's most popular men's sewing blog!

Jun 22, 2013

Before we get started today, friends, look at this fun 1966 Enid Collins wooden handbag I picked up this morning at the flea market for just $10. (This one's called "Money Tree" like the song.)
I feel about these Texas-designed bags the way I do about all things Lily Pulitzer: kitsch-for-the-rich, though it reminds me of the type of thing Doris Day would have worn in "Move Over Darling."

Did she? I can't recall.

I never looked twice at these bags till I read about them on one of my favorite vintage blogs, Betty Crafter, and then I knew I had to get one for Cathy. It has a few imperfections but so does my cousin.

"Mirror, mirror in my bag...?"

In other news, I also picked up this vintage cotton print, enough to make myself a shirt. Why can I never find new fabric like this anymore? It's smooth as silk and oh, so fine.

But neither the bag nor the fabric is what I really want to discuss today. I've been having a bit of a crisis for the last few days related to dress forms. I know I do not need one, I mean, a better one than the cheapie adjustable model I've had for at least three years which has more than paid for itself.

I've been thinking, wouldn't it be nice to have a Wolf form, or a Wolf form knock-off? The problem -- if you can call it a problem -- is that I'm not sure how it would really enhance my life, other than making me happy when I looked at it, provided, of course, it didn't make me feel like an idiot for buying one.

I can't even decide whether I want a men's form or a women's. My current one is a relatively flat-chested women's which I've padded out a bit, both to increase the waist size and to make it more pinnable. The back is too narrow, it's ugly, and it's supported by a pole I found in the trash after the original stand cracked. I do think I'd like to start draping patterns but then again, it's hardly a necessity given the number of commercial patterns I already own. I use mine primarily as a glorified hanger, helping me see in 3-D how my projects are coming along.

Yesterday I nearly shlepped to the Upper East Side to buy this dress form, originally purchased at F.I.T. and selling for $200. It's an 8.

But I decided that 1) $200 is no bargain plus I would have had to cab it home from East 86th St., easily adding $25 to the cost; 2) I don't need legs on my dress form; and 3) I'm not sure I want to pad out a women's size 8.

Then on Craigslist I saw this:

It's a Royal for just $80and a shorter cab ride from home. But although it's labelled 36, many male body forms with this label (including Royals) have a 38" chest and 32" waist, which is too big, plus the shoulders are too wide for my shirts. (I've owned two male display torsos both of which I sold because they were too big even to display a shirt on.) Anyway, it was one of those ads where you had to leave your phone number and they call you, which they haven't so who knows what's up.

What I really need (?) is this PGM 36Y from All Brands (I assume the "Y" stands for Youth; and it's a true 36" chest -- or so they claim). But with shipping it would come to more than $400, which is more than I want to spend right now. Plus All Brands has gotten some iffy reviews lately. Living two blocks from a great flea market, F.I.T., and being a stone's throw from the Garment District, do I really need to have a dress form shipped from hundreds of miles away?

So I'm kind of putting this on hold for now, or at least until I hear from the Craigslist seller which may or may not happen. That is, unless you can convince me otherwise.

In closing, a few questions:

1) Do you own a high-end dress form and was it worth the money?

2) Do you ever buy something sewing-related you know you don't need but just because it makes you feel excited about sewing and that's reason enough?

60 comments:

I have a Wolf that I purchased from CL for about $185 and then had padded to my dimensions. It's probably one of the best purchases I've ever made. That said, I do drape and I need to do alot of adjustments to commercial patterns. If you're one of the lucky few who fit into a pattern easily, the investment may not be worth it.

I have 4 a 1950s adjustable (Mabel)which I hardly use, a Stockman (Sylvia)from Paris which is quite small and an adjustable man (Stanley)and woman (Hilda)I use all the time, bought the man this year and he makes making clothes for me so much easier.

Love your new purse...I recall my Aunt or maybe my stylish Grandma having one or two of those. I'd carry one, but I'd be choosy about the design on it. Yours is wonderful. I love your new fabric...can't wait to see it made up.

I just got a dress form 2 weeks ago from CL, it's one of those Uniquely You ones where you alter the zippered cover to fit you, then put it on the squishy form and it molds it to your shape. Although it has great features, I think I'm going to sell it...I don't think I'd end up using it as much as I thought I would seeing that for every client, I'd have to re-alter it. And, I sew from patterns. I'm glad you're really thinking yours through before doing a knee jerk purchase like I did.

Good timing, you mist be reading my thoughts! I was draping this morning and realized my cheapo dress form's breasts are much higher ( and fuller in the upper chest) than my own. Not yet sure if its worth it buy a better replica...am thinking about it, though.

I LOVE those bags. I made a knock off when I was a little girl because all the chic ladies (in my little Kansas town) carried one. Someone even gave me a hand-me-down. Not sure what happened to it.

I am making do with two lower-end dressforms - an old Twinfit I got on eBay and padded out to my size and a new Uniquely You I got on CL. They are both rather ugly and the upper torsos are shaped very differently from each other, but they really do help me with fitting.

I fell in love with Enid Collins bags many years ago and had a nice collection of her wooden box bags with the beautiful painted designs covered with "jewels." I sold them all on Etsy last year when my priorities shifted to sewing!

I had one I bought on Craigslist years ago. It didn't adjust well and the pole was so shaky that it fell over constantly. Could never get my size dialed in. Was an old one from the 70's I think. I am looking for another one now but it's difficult to find a good one.

1.I once owned a 1950s adjustable and used it until it was irreparably crushed in a move.After 25 years without one, I'm almost ready to invest in something that runs around $200 2nd hand.

2.I own sewing machines I don't use much, but I'll never get rid of my Featherweight3. I'll never carry an Enid Collins bag because they have sharp corners and much be carried as opposed to slung over a shoulder.

an absolute yes to the enid, i'm sort of insanely jealous over here in texas.

and yes everywhere else...i think the happiness factor in owning a beautiful dress form (or any gorgeous, well made notion) is worth its weight in gold. and although padding one out sounds like a PITA, it's so completely worth it. le king has a great article in a recent threads about making a removeable custom padding.

Certainly if you get one, get a male form. You can ask Cathy to donate one of her bras to put on it when you're draping for her.

Mine came from Amazon and it's a company called Roxy Display, it was $200 - I couldn't find anything cheaper on Craigslist, and no cab rides necessary! I've padded mine out, and I'm slowly learning how to use it, but it's already been very helpful. Thinking about it now, since you already have a shirt pattern that fits, you probably would use it more for Cathy than your own clothes.

I bought a PGM form here (a second for less than 200) at their factory in LA. Love it - really good to pin on (but you have something for that). I keep meaning to pad it out to meet my shape (I already have a sloper for my body so it would be easy, theoretically). So, I guess my thoughts are: I think at some point a male form in a smaller size that you need - that you can insert a zipper female padding on - that would be perfect, I think. At that point if it is smaller you could do a zipper male padding too. Kenneth King, sometime in the last two-three years discussed and explained how to do a zipper padding on a dress form in Threads - I'll see if I can find the article.

Ok, first of all, I absolutely love the fabric and your bag! Gertie in roses on Etsy for beautiful fabrics. Secondly, I happened to be lucky one day at a thrift store and purchased several dressforms that came in and they had no room for so I got them extremely cheap! Being a complete novice with forms it was the best way for me to get a feel for it and decide if I really had a use for it before making a major purchase. Hope that helps ;)

Anyone know if Uniquely You makes male forms? I couldn't find any reference. Maybe I should just glue together blocks of foam (3M General Trim Adhesive, 3M Super Trim Adhesive, and contact cement are commonly used in upholstery) then use a kitchen electric carving knife to shape to my measurements -- more or less -- using a bent coat hanger to get front/back depths? I could hang a decent fitting shirt on it can keep carving until it's "close enough for government work". Not perfect for sure, but maybe workable for shirts?

I got a Supafit Adjustaform a good few years ago and it's barely been worth the money. I thought it would be a great addition to my arsenal and got all excited about seeing a dress on a 3D me instead of twisting around to see the back of me in mirrors.

It was only once I got it home that I realised that the back would not adjust to my length (quite short at 13 inches) but thought it would come in handy for sewing for others. I then made a crinoline for my Gone With The Wind obsessed daughter, put in on the dress form to work on it and the back length adjustment thingy broke with the weight.

Sorted that out with duct tape but then after numerous times knocking it over, it's now in bits.

There was an article in Threads magazine about making a cover for a dress form to match your own measurements. My plan is that one day I'll revamp the darned thing (probably with duct tape to hold it together!), force the back length to be shorter and make the cover to go over it.

One day :)

In the meantime, my back has been playing up too much to sit at a machine so I'm sticking to knitting lace shawls instead for now.

So, after all that (!) my advice is to spend as much as you can on a solid, well made dressform that is as near to your (and Cathy's) size as you can get. And pad it to size. I can see it being invaluable, especially if you get into draping your own designs.

I made a dress form a couple years ago with plaster bandages, filled with expandable foam and then you peel off the plaster and cover with rib knit. EXACTLY shaped like me, and pinnable. You can find instructions online.

I've got an unusual and plus-sized build, so I've found it invaluable for pattern alteration and fitting. And it wasn't nearly the horrid mess to make that I thought it would be.

I have bipedal Wolf from 1974 size 13. I paid about $140 for it but shipping was nearly $100. Honestly if its not exactly your size or your not current designing on it and draping then its not all that much use. Before that I had a PGM form which is very nice also but I sold that for a song to someone on craigslist because I needed the room for a new ne asap.

Even in your size a dress form is not going to be the fitting solution you think it will be. I find most fitting problems have a posture component that identical dimensions alone won't fix.

I'm wondering the same thing, Peter, about whether I would really, really use a dress form. I recently bid farewell to my duct tape double because it wasn't truly my double and didn't trust it. I'm significantly smaller than the smallest women's commercial dress form. I don't need to pad a form but subtract from it. Also, I sew fitted clothes, largely from vintage patterns, where fit is critical. Can I have a dress form I trust? I'll be meeting with my sewing teacher soon and will absolutely pepper her with questions. It is not okay to have sewing stuff I don't use (and I would prefer if you didn't bring up my serger purchase...)

One day when I can afford it I am going to buy a Wolf or comparable form and get it padded out to match my proportions. The padding process is time-consuming. A custom dressmaker-cum-sewing teacher with degrees from FIT and a small couture school once quoted me a price of $500, not including the form. For other services, her prices are quite reasonable given her experience and skill, so there must be a lot to it.

Or maybe I'll win Lotto, get a Wolf form custom made and vow never to change my shape. (Actually, getting bigger probably would not be a problem, and realistically, I'm not going to get smaller.)

There was a post on the Gorgeous Fabrics blog about this process. It took the two women who did it 30 hours and they're both quite experienced.

Men's patterns are not draped, so a form is not essential. But it's almost impossible to fit oneself, so it would helpful to put the garment on a form: I've asked more than one professional tailor what they do, and they get fitted by another professional.

David Page Coffin, former of Threads Magazine, once recommended a custom form company called My Twin in California. They make a cast of your body and there are also kits. The forms look good, but I wonder if there would be a problem if you intend to drape or make flat patterns using a standard pattern making book. Those texts usually use the screw in the armscye for reference, among other things.

Dress form: a true sore spot for me. I have owned and used three throughout in my sewing life - and hated them all. Too wobbly on the stand, breast too high, waist too low, neck too narrow - no matter what I did to make it resemble my body, it did not work. I got rid of them all or sent them back.However, I WANT a dress form - to drape, to adjust, to hem, to pin, to admire... Right now, I want to find some time and the right materials to make a body double like they discussed in the Thread magazine.

Has anyone actually made the dress form by Kenneth King? I saved the article, and have a sewist friend to make it with. But I've heard bad things about the duct tape ones, and am hesitant to spend all that time making one if it doesn't last very long. Anyone with experience out there?

1) Yes - I have a Roxy (a Wolf knock-off) and the collapsible shoulders and pinnable surface are totally worth it. Also for draping a professional dress form is pretty necessary because bolduc tape won't stick to the flocked surface of the lower end models. I also use my dress form to hold pattern tissue pieces to keep them out of the way and off my cutting table. I've used the full body forms and they're not as stable as the dressforms with with a center rod. Finally - projects photograph better on a professional dressform because they're just prettier than the flocked ones. Roxy's go for about $250 on Ebay including shipping.

2) Yup - my Stitch Nerd contoured ham

3) No only because I wear Fluevogs and that's enough funk for one person! But I love them and it's great you found one in good condition most of them don't age very well.

I can't seem to find a form that fits my body. Right now I have a Simple Fit in the smallest size and its till so thick through the shoulders and back! The chest is okay (small cup size) but the neck and shoulders just ruin it. I'm afraid to invest in a good one. The waist sizes are much smaller than mine in comparison to the bust. I'm build like a skinny Lego I guess. I'm ready to just pad one of the small junior forms I dumpster dived from Victoria Secret. As it is now I just tissue fit the patterns on the form to avoid measuring everything.

I have 2 dress forms now. The first is an Acme, size small, bought back in the day when I was truly skinny. It did a fair job as I was boney, and even smaller than the dress form. It now displays my vintage finds. The other dress form is a custom one. I use it many times. I used paper tape to wrap myself, then fill the cavity with foam, with a layer of batting for padding, final cover with muslin. It is work to make, however it's well worth the $100 of materials I put into it. And it's pin-able. I've made the duct tape version. Don't bother making it unless you like the smell of duct tape on a warm afternoon. Also the chance of it bursting at the seams is a given.

how about a papertape form. it's lightweight, pinnable and pretty cheap to make. if you live in the sf bay area, there is a lady who makes them for about 80.00, including the supplies. The duct tape ones slowly get larger and they take a lot of stuffing.http://makingitwell.blogspot.com/2012/03/i-made-my-own-dress-form.html

1. Don't own a dress form. I have a size 6/8 mannequin I use to photograph my Etsy aprons.

2. I love to buy sewing related stuff that I really don't need. In fact you persuaded me to buy an old singer last week. My blog Thimble Fingers will be all about it this week. I post on Sunday.

3. I would have bought that bag for $10 IF I had known how much more they were selling for. But, I would turn around and SELL it because I REALLY don't like the look. Also I can't imagine carrying around a handbag that would rattle around and crash into things when I moved.

Had a duct tape form, but I hated the way my pins gummed up each time I needed to pin something on it. Also, after a while, the dress form opened up and I hated having to perform "surgery" to stuff in more padding here and there.

Went and got a dress form from Roxy Display, when they were on sale for about $60. Because of my tummy fat, I also ordered Fabulous Fit padding system, for about $65.

I have three - two supa fits and a non adjustable - all different sizes and shapes. I love them. One is set to my dimensions, one to my daughter and the other is more of a hanger in function. Each of them was bought at bargain 2nd hand prices. My 'rules' for buying something expensive like this is to only buy the exact thing you need and if you are patient it will present itself to you, in some way, eventually.

The custom-cast dress forms mentioned by several people here are the way movie studios used to do it. Each star had her own form, exactly duplicating her body. I've seen Lana Turner's - you would not believe how tiny she was.

The procedure was to do the first couple of fittings on the form, then get the actress in for at least one final fitting - more if something tricky was going on, like a dance costume where movement made fit even more critical than usual.

Dress forms (see? multiple!) are on my wish list. I'd like children's dress forms, which means that you need multiple ones for different sizes. But they're out of my budget. Waaaay out of my budget. instead, I will continue to annoy the children by making them try things on. Mean Auntie Laura.

Peter,I just found your blog! I love having a dressform. Since I have a narrow back, short waist and large bust, I bought mine according to my frame size rather than my actual size then padded it out. She has on one of my old bras and a fitting shell. I recently found this amazing tutorial and I'm tempted to make a new one, but being lazy probably won't.

I would think that making a man's form would be easier since you don't have all the bump outs.

I bought a Dritz dress form a few years ago. It looks depressingly a lot like me and it is kind of discouraging to see what the clothes look like on it so I have hardly used it at all. I doubt you'd have that problem, though!

The dress form - I have a cheapie from Craigslist ... Works for my current needs ... But have thought so much about making my own based on joost's method of making your pinnable / drapable dress form using foam and body mold ... It looks pretty awesome ... I can't seem to find the link now On the web anymore but I did save the elaborate instructions for myself in an email and will be glad to send it if you need.

Peter, you can make your own dress form of your body using duct tape, a cheap t-shirt, scissors, and somebody to help you. There's a youtube video on how to do it. Just type "how to make your own dress form" on the search box.

True, male dressforms are not generally used for draping. But I find my duct tape buddy invaluable for checking shoulder pad positions, length and back collar fit. It's easier than wearing the darn jacket all the time. Wish i had a pro dressform, but none fit my size. Duct tape to the rescue.

Enid Collins, the name alone conjures up lunches at a local steak joint, running into the mid-afternoon, where she and her pack hold court in a corner booth, drinking dirty martinis with 2 olives. A large amber glass ashtray appropriately serves as centerpiece at each table, matchbooks featuring the joints name in a stylized script keep it classy, and a bowl of chalky mints and a tiny spoon by the cashier punctuate each visit; Miss Cathy Lane would fit right in.

I love my cheapie adjustable dress form that was customised in a group class. Since I'm not a standard shape, it really helps me with fitting and hemming and also provides somewhere to put the work in progress. You are pretty sure about your own dimensions, so probably don't need a form for tweaking flat patterns. I guess the relevant question is thus how urgent is your urge to drape?

1. I have a Wolf that I had custom-made around 15 years ago. It is worth every penny of the considerable expense. The only time I don't like it is when I have to carry it down the steps to take photos in the better light of downstairs. I am now slightly smaller than the form because I was working when I bought it and eating in restaurants all the time, but it is still very, very useful.

2. no, I desperately need all of the sewing-related paraphernalia that I buy.

3. My kids have one of those that an elderly neighbor gave them. I had no idea what it was until now.

Thanks for sharing your experience with the Wolf custom form. I always figured that was the way to go.

Any professional with whom I've discussed duct tape forms has either thought they were ridiculous or didn't know what I was talking about. They thought it would be a huge waste of time for an iffy fit and a form that would be hard to use.

I hear you, Peter! I want a serger. I have coveted one for like 30 years and now that I have returned to sewing, I have a serious jones. But, I don't have space for one. That is the bottom line. I also want a Bernina. I so so so want a Bernina. However, the fact on that, my friend, is that I don't have the cash right now.

On buying sewing things we don't need, I do it, but my minimalist side is trying to get better. I just passed on a Singer 222 (Featherweight with free arm and dropping feed dogs) - but I'm kicking myself in the but for it. Very cheap. Do I need another FW - even the rare 222. But I want it and they are as rare as hen's teeth in these parts.

1) I don't have a whole lot of sewing things that I've been desperate for but a dress form was one of them and since my MIL consistently sends money in lieu of presents at Christmas and birthday, I was able to indulge my desire for one in January of last year. I got mine from Fabulous Fit and it included their set of pads in order to pad it out. I'd wanted a size 16 Misses 3/4 dress form, so it has some thigh to it, which makes it easier to fit some things. They weren't making a size 16 in a 3/4 form, so I got the size 14 because I figured it would be better to get a smaller size and pad it out than a bigger size that couldn't be altered if I suddenly lost a good deal of weight. I did need to use more than their pads in order to get it to my shape, but I had a bunch of quilt batting remnants, which I used to supplement the pads. I used her quite a bit until I got pregnant in December, and I'm sure I'll use her more after I have this baby in August. Her name is Mathilde and she cost about $250 at the time but they were having a sale. :) The price right now is running in the $350 range or so with their current sale pricing. Plus, they're located in NY, Peter!

2) I didn't really NEED an embroidery machine but I really wanted one. It sat in a box for 2 years because I hadn't gotten around to figuring out how to use it. It was a fabulous deal, though, and I did my first embroidery with it back in April and now I try to use it as much as possible in my sewing and mending - embroidery is really good for covering up small stains on a garment that you love, I've found. Plus, it made it easy to customize gifts for teachers at the end of the school year - my kids wanted to give them tote bags, so I chose 1 pattern and the kids picked embroidery designs they liked, plus fabric combos. Each teacher ended up with a bag made by me but essentially designed by the child, so everyone was happy. And yes, it does make me excited about sewing.

3) No Enid Collins bag for me, but I'm still looking for the perfect mid-century wicker handbag, similar to one my grandma had.

3) Oh oh me please Sir/Miss...I got one! I bought it a long time ago when my initial was also E.C. So it felt like it was made just for me. Here are a couple of photos of it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/overflowingstash/sets/72157634301299232/

I love mine, even though it's totally useless as a handbag. I mean the stuff that we women who don't lunch carry around with us would never fit into it. But it adds that little special sparkle to almost any outfit. Love!

I have 3 dress forms (small, medium and large) all from thrift stores and 2 male body forms. I find them to be very useful. I think about dress forms when I hear someone describe a sewing garment as not having hanger appeal.

I just bought an Enid Collins purse at our local flea market for $10 - red bag with a road runner on it! LOVE it!!As to dressforms, I couldn't funtion without them. I used to own 11, in all sizes including men's 36, 38 and 40. I sold one to a local theater company but still have the others. A couple of the women's mannequins I sold over the years and I'm currently using one as "yard art" with a dress on her made of magnolia leaves : ) If you lived closer I'd be happy to sell you one of my male mannequins but the price to ship them is a "little high". If you're even remotely interested I could see what UPS super cheap ground would be. They make SUCH a difference IMHO.

I found a new, fully hand-beaded animal print handbag (that I am SURE I saw in Vogue or some such mag, for some outrageous price)at Value Village for THREE DOLLARS AND FIFTY CENTS. *happy dance*.

Oh and after looking around for (but never finding) a decent second-hand dress form, I finally broke down and bought one for $200 at Fabricland. Immediately, almost as if someone pressed a button,dressforms BY THE SCORE started popping up at a local secondhand/antique store! Story of my life...

I have never had a dress form. I'm not sure if I would ever use it except to photograph clothes to post on my blog.

Ah, wooden purses. That takes me back. I had a cheap one when I was 12 years old. I thought it was cool at first but I grew to hate it. It was clunky and awkward to carry and the corners of it splintered and were always catching on clothes.

a boy, a dream, and 10+ sewing machines

I'm a native New Yorker and sewing fanatic! I started sewing in 2009 and today make all my own clothes using vintage sewing machines and vintage patterns, in addition to sewing for private clients. Welcome to the warm and whimsical world of Male Pattern Boldness, where the conversation is sewing, style, fashion, fabric, and more!